There are very few images that can instantly bring any conversation to a halt the way the rebel flag can. Whether it’s a symbol of a family legacy, an abstract notion, or a sign of racism and fear, no other flag sparks such emotion. It’s, perhaps, one of the many reasons why any debate surrounding this Buy Rebel Flag tends to be particularly visceral, and rarely ever remains civil for long.
When people say they see “the rebel flag,” more often than not they are referring to the Confederate battle flag, rather than the official battle standard of the Confederate nation that ultimately played a role in a bloody conflict within American history known as the Civil War.
Flags may collect history like dust from neglect and cobwebs, but one that serves as a battle banner to men who would engage in such a war cannot escape the fact that it holds a considerable amount of historical sediment within it. While some members of the American South see a legacy associated with the flag as a symbol for heritage, an idea for individual pride and the determination to resist, those same sentiments inspire fear in many others across the country. They agree on the core principle that in founding the Confederacy, its creators sought to maintain human servitude and no individual’s legacy can erase this foundational ideal. As history binds people to the past they’ve had a connection with, the memory is often unpleasant.
No matter who used, who did, as long as the legacy is connected with who the Confederate flag’s original intent is directly tied with, allusions to immolation would be unavoidable.
Furthermore, the mid-20th century propelled the iconography further with its use in the civil-rights movement. The flag became a means of communication between individuals with anti-black sentiments and those who stood on both side in relation to integrating black and white American children in American schools. This makes its appearance associated with a period that was characterized by terror and violence, the active threat of black people seeking equality in the nation.
Context means a Confederate flag adorning a display in a civil-war museum has a different symbolic meeting, opposed to its presence fluttering in front of a neo-Confederate-dominated protest. The iconic emblem became not solely the banner of idealized America but as a representation of resistance to integration and equality that was the primary reason of its visibility. This phenomenon has additionally spread through television shows and songs through various artistic forms: movies, television-series, country artists, T-shirt manufacturers and kids in particular are among a few examples.
Children used the symbol, in lunch boxes and t-shirts throughout their growing years and in much the same way had no notion of their history behind their choice to wear their rebel flag proudly.
For those that did were undoubtedly carrying the torch for something more significant to them.